Can't Have Winter Without Fall
by Snowqueen0122
Summary: Fifteen years after the Guardians defeat Pitch, he resurfaces more powerful than ever. The Man in the Moon decides that the current Guardians won't be enough to stop him so he calls upon the Spirit of Halloween to give them a little boost but what happens when the Queen of Tricks meets the King of Fun?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Over the weekend, my cousin made me watch** _ **Rise of the Guardians,**_ **and I thought it was kind of cute. But they mentioned other holiday's and I thought it would be fun to write one about the bringer of fall and the spirit of halloween. Don't shoot me if this sucks. Anyway… R &R**

Jinx's P.O.V.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year!" I sing loudly as I fly around my hometown, completely at peace. I'm laying on my back watching the moon as trees and houses go by underneath me

"I believe that's christmas." A little voice says from next to me. I turn my head to see Echo, one of my many helpers but probably one of my favorites. Echo is a little black bat that always help when it comes to my holiday. Oh wait, you guys are probably confused. Let me explain. I'm Jinx. Spirit of Halloween and Bringer of Fall. That's my official title. I'm the reason the leaves change color and all the mischief and tricks that happen in the days leading up to Halloween and Friday the 13th are all because of me. Today is October 15th so it's crunch time for me and my helpers, but every once in a while, I decide to step away from work and relax with a fly around the town.

"Not for me, Echo." I laugh as I land on top of a statue and look at the people walking the streets. Echo lands on my shoulder and makes herself comfortable.

"Do you think we'll be ready? Halloween is just around the corner and there's still a lot to be done and yesterday Shadow was talking about how there's just too much to do and…" I cut her of with a laugh.

"Echo, you are more freaked out about this than me and it's my holiday we're talking about here. We've always been fine and this year is no exception." I give her a tiny scratch on her head and she lets out a squeak in approval.

"You're right. It's just Shadow always knows how to make people freak out." Echo says as she nuzzles deeper into my neck.

"Well, she is a black cat and when humans see a black cat their first instinct is to freak out." I explain as I jump down from the statue and begin walking around. Another thing I have to explain to you guys is I invisible to the world and that's how I like it. Hiding in the shadows is what I was made for. "But I do think that we should probably get back. Knowing my helpers, Shadow and Buffy are probably fighting while everyone else is making bets on who's gonna win."

"I agree. Now let's go." Echo flies off my shoulder and begins flying home. I chuckle as I pull out my broomstick, sit on it and fly toward my house. It's a haunted mansion in the middle of a cemetery. When I arrive, I am greeted by Halloween creatures of all kinds. Vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghosts, goblins, ghouls, other witches… Basically if it's a creature that goes bump in the night and scares young children, it's here.

"Finally, she's back." A ghost, Alexandria, greets as I dismount my broom.

"Yeah. I just needed to step away for a little bit to clear my head." I say as I straighten my hat.

"You know, girls who looked like you in my day would have been considered a trouble maker or a witch." Alexandria says as she hovers next to me.

"Well considering I am both a witch and trouble maker, I would say that fits." I look down at my outfit and shrug my shoulders. Being a witch wearing bright colors isn't exactly the smartest thing. My outfit consists of a short black corset dress with a pair of striped tights, black heeled boots, black lace fingerless gloves and my hat. I have really pale skin with dark hair that has dark purple, orange and neon green streaks in it, and my eyes tend to change color depending on my mood. So right now they're purple which means I'm calm and peaceful but that's about to change. "Alright guys, let's get back to work." My eyes turn green and we are ready to roll.

At the North Pole

No One's P.O.V.

"JACK!" Bunny screams as he comes into the main workshop, covered in paint. Jack laughs as he flies up to the globe to hide from Bunny. "Where is he, North?" Jack can hear Bunny's angry Australian accent float up to his ears like music.

"I don't know what you talk about and why do you look like that?" North's thick Russian accent booms across the room. Jack has to bite his cheek to avoid giving himself away.

"Jack decided to pull a fun little prank on me. I don't have time for this. Easter is right around the corner and I have a lot of eggs to finish up." Bunny complains as he scratches his ear.

"And Christmas is even closer. I still have three billion presents to finish up." North says as he pinches the bridge of his nose. "But something has happened and we need to put our holidays on hold. That's way I've called you all here."

"What happened?" Jack asks as he floats down from behind the globe.

"Why you little-"

"Bunny, now is not time for revenge against Jack. That will have to wait." North stops Bunny in his tracks, who begins grumbling under his breath. Tooth flies in rambling orders with her fairies right behind her. Then Sandy flies in and asks what's going on. "I know I know, but I obviously wouldn't have called you here unless it was absolutely necessary."

"So what is going on?" Jack asks as he sits on the railing with his legs crossed at the ankle.

"He's back." North says vaguely as he looks at the globe. Everyone shares looks with each other, knowing who he was talking about but not knowing what to say.

"There's no way. We defeated him fifteen years ago, North. Pitch is gone for good." Jack says as he looks at the man who basically became like a father.

"No Jack. Over the past few weeks, I've been having terrible nightmares. Nightmares that only Pitch could create." North says. Everyone stays silent for a moment, then they notice that the moon is shining extra bright.

"Looks like Manny's got something for us." The moon's light shines on the guardian piece on the floor as Pitch's shadow appears on it.

"It is Pitch. But how?" Bunny asks as the crystal rose from the ground and begins to shine.

"He's choosing a new guardian. This must be very big if Manny thinks we need more help." North says as he stares at the crystal.

"Please not the groundhog. Please not the groundhog." Bunny begs as a figure of a girl appears over the crystal and Tooth lets out a tiny squeal. Bunny groans as he bangs his head against the pillar.

"Manny has chosen Jinx." Tooth laughs as do her fairies.

"I think I would rather have the groundhog." Bunny complains as he removes his head from the pillar.

"Who's Jinx?" Jack asks as he studies the figure in front of him.

"I forgot that you two have never met." North says as he slaps his forehead. "She is the very Spirit of Halloween. Tricks and mischief is what she does. Kind of like Pitch, her power comes from fear but she doesn't use it in evil ways. It's a fun kind of fear that she feeds off of. She also loves to play practical jokes on people no matter what time of year."

"She sounds like my kind of person." Jack says as he smiles at the image of her.

"None of us will be safe if those two end up getting along." Bunny says as he rubs his head with his paw.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Jack asks, pretending to be offended.

"Queen of Tricks meets King of Pranks… It's the end of the world." Bunny says as he sits down and pouts.

"Stop being so dramatic, Bunny." Tooth scolds him. "So who should be the one to break the news to her."

"I'll do it. I wanna meet this girl." Jack says as North hands him a snowglobe and Jack activates it.

"Just a fair warning, Jack. When she finds out she might be a little…" North tries to find the right word.

"Bad-tempered, angry, pissy, crazy, out for blood…" Bunny finishes for him.

"I was going to say in shock. Just be patient with her." North says as he sends an annoyed look toward Bunny. Jack nods and goes through the portal.

"Do you think those two will be able to work together?" Tooth asks.

"Absolutely not." North says as he retreats to his work room while Bunny, Tooth and Sandy find something to do while they wait for their newest guardian.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey snowflakes. New chapter for you guys cause why the hell not.**

Jack's P.O.V.

Once I finally get through the portal, I take in my surroundings. A graveyard? Well that's not creepy at all. I take a few steps into the graveyard when something flies at my face. Not knowing how else to react I scream, fly up to the top branches of the nearest tree and stare down at a tiny bat that stares back at me with confusion in its eyes. I chuckle as I fly back and land on the ground in front of the little black bat.

"I'm glad no one saw that." I say to no one in particular.

"Believe me, sweetheart, we saw it." A voice says from behind me. I quickly turn around and stand up. A ghost is floating near the base of the tree. She is dressed in clothes from the 1600's and her hair is up in a bun.

"Are you Jinx?" I ask as I take a step closer.

"Thank God no I'm Alexandria, but why do you need to see her?" The ghost questions as she floats over and sits on a tombstone.

"The Man in the Moon has chosen her to be the new guardian and someone had to break the news to her." I explain as the small bat flies onto my shoulder.

"What do you, Echo? Is he telling the truth?" Alexandria asks the tiny bat.

"From what I can sense, yes." The bat says. I look at the tiny bat with a confused look on my face then back at the ghost who is laughing so hard she almost falls of the tombstone.

"The look on your face was the best thing I've seen in 600 years." Alexandria says as she regains her composure.

"I'm just not use to other animals talking." I say feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Well you'd better get use to it, bub. All the animals around here talk." The bat, apparently named Echo, says as she floats in front of my face with a threatening tone in her voice. "Because if you're dealing with our girl, then you gotta deal with us too." Not gonna lie… This bat scares me.

"Ok ok… I just wanna talk to her." I say with my hands in the air to show I mean no harm. The bat flies closer to my face, gives my face an up down, then squinks her tiny bat eyes.

"Fine. I'll go get her." The little bat flies toward a creaking mansion and leaves me with Alexandria.

"Well, I gotta go. Places to be, people to scare. Jinx will be here to talk in a second. Just stay here." Alexandria then disappears, leaving me alone in this creepy graveyard. Not knowing what else to do, I sit cross-legged while floating. After a few minutes of waiting, I am beginning to get a little impatient. So I land on the ground and begin pacing as thoughts of what this girl will be like begin to flood my mind.

"Will you stop pacing? It's making me anxious and that's saying something." Another voice says from above me. I look up to see a black cat laying on a branch of the nearest tree.

"Sorry. I'm just not use to this place." I say, then I realize that I'm explaining myself to a cat.

"Yeah, well hopefully you don't have to come back." The cat says as it jumps down from the branch and sits in front of me.

"What do you mean?"

"Look, Jinx isn't interested in becoming a guardian. She has too much on her plate as it is. Becoming a guardian will just cause her to burn herself out. I'm the girl's familiar, it's my job to keep her safe and that's what I plan to do. She's gonna refuse, then she's gonna kick your wintery butt outta here before you can say snowman." The cat laughs.

"Sorry to say, but she doesn't really have a choice."

"Who doesn't have a choice?" A new voice chimes in from behind me. I turn around to see a girl who made my heart stop.

Jinx's P.O.V.

"Blair, can your team weave those webs a little closer together?" I ask my black tarantula, Blair.

"No problem." Blair and her team start to weave their spiderwebs in a tighter fashion. I smile as I walk to a different part of the house to check on a different team.

"How are things going over here, Axel?" I ask my raven as he looks at me with a smile on his beak.

"We should be ready for Halloween as long as we have no other delays." Axel responds.

"That is great. Now I just have a million other things to go through." I say as I run my fingers through my hair in order to calm myself down. I can tell that my eyes are pure white right now which means I'm a little stressed.

"Jinx, your eyes are white. Do want me and my team to take another project? You know we will." Axel asks as he flaps his wings to lift himself off the ground and land on my shoulder.

"As much as I would appreciate that, you guys are already doing a lot. I'll handle it." I say as I take a deep breath, trying to get myself to calm down.

"Jinx!" Echo screams my name as she flies into the house.

"Echo, what's wrong?" Assuming the worst, I fly out of the room and into the foyer where Echo is flying in circles around the .

"There's someone here to see you." Echo says as she overs in front of my face.

"Who is it?" I ask as I fly toward the door on my broom.

"I don't know but he has white hair, a blue hoodie, brown pants, and skin about as pale as yours. He also has this thing that follows him." Echo explains as she leads to where this person is.

"What is it?" I ask as we near my favorite oak tree.

"It's a cold energy. Almost like a wintery feeling." When we arrive I see a boy who looks to be about my age with frost white hair that covered a part of his bright blue eyes, a dark blue hoodie with a frost details on his shoulders, brown pants with cord going up the side and that stop at his calf, and he is carrying a shepard style hook.

"Sorry to say, but she doesn't really have a choice." He tells Shadow, who looks utterly unamused. I decide to make my presence known to the boy. I switch positions so that now I'm laying on my stomach with my head propped up by my hands and my legs crossed at the ankle and bent at the knee.

"Who doesn't really have a choice?" I ask with a smile on my face. The boy quickly stands up and whipped around to face me with a look of awe on his face. The light pink blush becomes very apparent on his pale cheeks as he stares at me with wide open eyes and jaw that dropped to the floor the second he laid eyes on me. I chuckle as I jump off my broom and land in front of the boy. "I'm Jinx, and you are?"

"I'm Jack Frost." The boy finally responds. I've heard that name before, but I just can't put my finger on it. "I have something to tell you and this is going to be a little surprising since we just met and all…" Hearing him say that causes me to laugh for some odd reason.

"I'm sorry, but hearing you say that made it sound like you were about to profess your undying love for me and I just found that really funny." I continue to laugh and eventually Jack starts to laugh too. After a few minutes of laughing, he suddenly becomes slightly serious.

"Anyway, there's something really important that we need to discuss."

"Ok, and not to be rude or anything but can we make it quick? I still have a holiday to plan and there's still a lot to get done and not enough hours in the day." I say as I look at my watch. And yes, I actually wear a watch. Gotta know when it's the witching hour. It's kind of a requirement.

"Um… I don't really know how to say this other than to just say it…" Jack says as he rubs the back of his neck. He begins to stumble over his words as he tries to explain something to me. I tap my foot as I wait for him to get a grip.

"Just spit it out." I say after a few minutes of listening to his babbling.

"You're a guardian." He rapidly says. I stare at him for a second.

"What?"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: New chapter for y'all. Enjoy.**

Jinx's P.O.V.

"You're a Guardian." If I actually had a heart, it would have stopped.

"What?" I ask. He slowly nods his head. I look over at Echo, Axel, Buffy my black and gray wolf, Blair and Shadow. After a moment of silence we all burst out laughing. We continue laughing for several minutes, then we stop when we realize that he wasn't laughing at all. "You can't be serious…"

"But for once in my immortal life, I am." Jack says, scratching the back of my neck. I stare at him in shock.

"You've gotta be kidding me." I run my fingers through my hair. "Why me? Literally anyone else would be ten times as qualified. Why don't you go talk to them?" I suggest as I turn around to leave.

"It's not my choice." He stops me.

"What are you talking about?" I turn around with a curious look on my face.

"You were chosen by the Man in the Moon. So you kind of have to do it." Jack says. I roll my eyes and look up at the full moon that is shining on my cemetery.

"After 250 years of doing this job, this is the curve ball you throw at me? Really?" I realize that I probably look like a crazy person for screaming at the moon. When I'm extremely annoyed, my eyes tend to turn bright yellow, which I know they are.

"Look, I understand that this can be a lot to take in…" Jack begins to say but he stops when I turn around to face him. "What's going on with your eyes?"

"My eyes change color depending on my mood. And right now, I'm really annoyed." I explain I crack my knuckles and my neck.

"Why don't you come back to the pole with me and North can explain everything else." Jack suggests.

"I can't just leave. I still have a ton of work to do…"

"Jinx!" Echo cuts me off. I turn to look at her. "We'll take care of everything until you get back. Just get this figured out." After having the others nod in agreement I finally give in.

"I'll come with ya, kiddo. Everyone knows you'd be lost without me." Shadow says as she walks over to me and jumps onto my shoulder.

"Keep dreaming, whiskers. Alright, but we gotta make this quick." Jack nods and pulls out a tiny globe. He throws it and it creates a portal. We step through the portal and begin whipping around like autumn leafs in the breeze. When we finally come to a stop, I open my eyes to see that I'm in the middle of North's shop. Shadow jumps off my shoulder and begins to wander around.

"Welcome to the North Pole." Jack says as he flies to a railing and sits down.

"There she is!" North screams as he enters the room. "Jinx Trixs. Welcome to the Pole." North literally breaks my spine as he wraps me in a bear hug. When he releases me, I notice elves and yetis working like Christmas is tomorrow instead of another two months.

"Good to see you again, North. What's it been? 150 years?" I ask as I duck to avoid being hit by a flying toy.

"Something like that. You know Bunny, obviously." He gestures to Bunny who couldn't look any less interested. I take notice of the paint on his fur and decide to have a little fun with it and poke the bear (or kangaroo if you prefer) with a stick.

"Yeah. Obviously." I say as I roll my eyes. "Nice paint job, by the way." Bunny looks like he's about to say something back when North cuts him off. Bunny goes into the corner and begins grumbling to himself.

"And the Tooth Fairy." Suddenly Tooth whizzes in front of me and catches me in a bone crushing hug.

"Tooth, I kind of need to breath at some point here." I wheeze out as my face turns blue. Tooth finally let's go of me and rubs her arm.

"Sorry, it's just really good to see you again, Jinx." Tooth says.

"Good to see you too, Toothie." I place my hand on her shoulder and offer her a smile.

"And Sandman." I look to see Sandy floating about six inches off the ground, but he's asleep. "Sandy?" North gently nudges Sandy with his hand, however Sandy stays asleep." Wake up!" Hearing North shout causes Sandy to wake up and smile at me.

"Hey Sandy." I smile back at him. Sandy nods and goes to find a glass of eggnog.

"So does someone wanna fill me in on why snowflake over there…" I gesture to Jack Frost, who hasn't taken his eye off of me since we got here. "Shows up at my cemetery, telling me that I've been chosen by the Man in the Moon to be the new Guardian."

"Because you were." Tooth says as she hovers next to me and places her hand on my shoulder. "Last night, Jinx."

Jack's P.O.V.

"Because you were." Tooth places her hand on Jinx's shoulder. "Last night, Jinx."

"Excuse me for one second." Jinx says as she calmly walks into a different room and closes the door behind her.

"Oh boy. I hope you didn't have anything valuable in there." The cat says as it jumps onto the railing and lays down.

"What are you talking…" Suddenly I get cut off by several crashes and a few frustrated screams in a language that I couldn't understand even with subtitles. I chuckle as I turn to walk away but Tooth stops me.

"Jack, maybe you should go talk to her." Tooth says as she flies over to me.

"What? Why me?" I ask with a look of confusion on my face.

"You were in same boat as her not long ago." North explains as he put a hand on my shoulder. "No go make her feel better." He roughly pushes me toward the door. I stumble a little due to sudden surprise but once I get my footing, I turn around and glare at North, who has a triumphant grin painted on his face. I slowly make my way to the door until I'm standing right in front of it. I'm about to knock when I decide I'd rather not face a witch with a temperament problem.

"I don't wanna do this." I whine as I quickly turn around to face the other guardians.

"Just do it, ya big baby." Bunny says. I turn around and face the door again when I hear Bunny say something else. "Who knows… You might get a date out of it." I feel the heat rising up the back of my neck and across my cheeks and being the very personification of winter with the pale skin I have, a bright red blush is gonna be extremely noticeable. It takes every ounce of my courage to knock on that door. After a moment, she opens the door with a forced smile on her face.

"You ok in there?" I ask. _Really Jack?! Are you ok in there? Of course she's not ok! Idiot!_ She sends me a fake smile and walks past me.

"I'm fine. Just a lot to take in." She silently goes over to the railing and looks out over the workshop. I look over to the others, who motion for me to go talk to her. I slowly make my way over to the rail and stand next to her.

"I know this is a big change, but you'll be fine. You're already doing better than I did when I was first chosen." I nudge her shoulder with my own.

"Have you seen what that room looks like now? I highly doubt that you could do anything worse." She says with a chuckle.

"Wanna bet?" I smirk at her.

"What'cha got?" She sends me a smirk that makes my immortal heart flutter.

"I froze an elf, got Sandy turned into a nightmare, ruined Easter, and almost got everyone else killed." I wince inwardly at the memories. "And that was all before I was even an official guardian."

"You win." Jinx says as she lets out a tiny laugh.

"Yeah, so in the category of "Things done when found out you were chosen to be a guardian" you're doing just fine."

"Thanks Jack."

"Oi! Love birds, get out here!" We both hear Bunny shout from the main part of the shop. The two of us run over to them to see Pitch's silhouette on the ground.

"You didn't really think I was defeated, did you?" The shadow laughs as it rises from the ground but keeps it shadowy form. It looks right at Jinx and laughs. "Well, hello Jinx. Nice to finally meet you, but I must say that I'm a little disappointed that you're chumming around with these do gooders. Your talents could be so much more useful with me."

"Keep dreaming. I would much rather spend eternity listen to Bunny talk about why Easter is better than Christmas. Which it isn't."" Jinx snaps as she floats off the ground and flies toward the shadow.

"Oi!" Bunny yells from his place. I have to stifle my laughter to keep myself calm.

"Nonetheless, your time will come. Fear will once again rule and you, my dear, must make the choice of who you stand with. The Raven will return and nothing will stop it." Suddenly the shadow pops like a balloon, sending black sand all over the room. Jinx lands where the shadow once was and lets out a loud sigh.

"I told you so." North looks at Bunny, who simply rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I don't want to hear it, North. Why was he jabbering about a raven?" Bunny asks as he puts his boomerangs away.

"I don't know but if Pitch wants it, it can't be good." North says as he sheaths his swords. Tooth, Bunny, North, Sandy and myself all start talking about what it could possibly mean.

"I know what he's talking about." We all look over to Jinx, who has an unreadable look on her face.

"What do you mean?" North asks as he takes a step closer to her.

"The Raven is one of the most evil demon ever seen by anyone. She destroys people. She shows them their worst fears and when they're at their weakest, she takes their souls. She has killed thousands of innocent people. She can't return. If she does, it will be the end of everything we know and love." Jinx says as she looks at the ground.

"How do you know all of this?" I ask as I place my hand on her shoulder.

"Because she's my mother…"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys, new chapter. Yay!**

No one's P.O.V.

Everyone stays silent as Jinx's words seep in. Jinx turns around and walks to the railing as she tries to keep herself from crying. The other guardians look at each other before Jack walks toward her. He arrives at the railing to see a blank look on Jinx's face, but he can tell that she's biting back the tears. He puts a hand on her shoulder and offers her a comforting smile.

"Jinx," The two turn to look at North."What will exactly happen to the people of the world if your mother returns?"

"Death, destruction, everything you know and love being destroyed in a fiery inferno and things of that nature. I however don't know what she's gonna do to all of you." Jinx says as she sits on the railing.

"Why would she do something to us?" Jack asks as he sits next to her.

"The original guardians are the ones who imprisoned her in the first place and I'm willing to bet that she's completely unaware that the original guardians are no longer in control."

"We are." Tooth says as realization dawned on all of them.

"So your mother…" Jack starts to say, but Jinx cuts him off with an annoyed look gracing her features.

"Please stop calling her my mother. Yes, she gave birth to me but she will never be my mother."

"Ok, so if The Raven doesn't know that the original guardians are out of business, she might mistake us for them and try to kill us?" Jack asks.

"That's the jist of it." Jinx takes off her hat and runs her fingers through her hair.

"Kid!" Shadow yells as she jumps up on Jinx's lap. "We gotta get back home. Echo contacted me and said something's very wrong." Without a second word, Jinx is on her feet conjuring a portal back to her home with Shadow on her shoulder. She is about to walk through when North stops her.

"Jinx, we are coming with you." North pulls on a big fluffy coat and a matching hat. Jinx is about to protest when Tooth cuts her off.

"And I would not suggest trying to argue with North. Once he has made up his mind, there's no going back." Jinx rolls her eyes but nods her head in agreement. Together they walk through the portal and emerge into the halloween world, except it didn't look like it did before. Jinx covers her mouth in shock.

"Who could have done this?" Tooth asks as Jinx walks around, trying to avoid the broken pieces of tombstone and marble.

"I don't know but the second I find out, he's going to wish he never stepped foot in my world." Jinx says with her eyes flashing a dangerous red and her voice sounding slightly demonic.

"Don't worry, Jinx. We will help you find who has done horrible deed." North responds as he puts a hand on her shoulder, trying to keep her calm. Suddenly there is a loud crash from farther up and Jinx wastes no time in flying over to the source of the sound with the others following in her tracks. When they arrive, they see her mansion up in a blazing inferno. It takes her a moment to react but she finally comes to her senses and puts out the fire.

"Everything's gone. Months of hard work and planning. It's all for nothing." Jinx says as she drops to her knees and looks at the charred mess of what was once her house. The other guardians share uneasy looks as if they're trying to figure out what to say to make Jinx feel better. Shadow walks over and rubs her head against Jinx's leg.

"We might still be able to make this work." Shadow tries to make the young witch feel better.

"How can we? Halloween is in sixteen days. There is no way we can replace a years worth of work in sixteen days… Especially not with what's going on with the Raven." Jinx lowers her head.

"Never say never, kid. We've done the impossible before and we can do it again." Suddenly something dawns on Jinx.

"Where is everybody?" Jinx stands up and begins to look around the cemetery.

"They must have taken cover." Shadow says as she tries to pick the faintest sound. Finally she focuses on something by one of the willow trees. "Kiddo, over by the willow tree." Jinx and Shadow take off toward the tree to see a little black ball near the base of the tree. The other guardians appear, looking confused. Bunny opens his mouth to ask something, but Tooth gives him a look that makes him think twice.

"Echo?" Jinx cautiously says as she takes a step toward the little black mass. The mass turns over to reveal Echo.

"Jinx?" Echo slowly flies over to Jinx's shoulder and snuggles into her neck. "Thank goodness you're alright." Jinx lets out a breath of relief as she holds Echo in her hands.

"What happened?" Jinx says as she looks into the bat's big black eyes that are rimmed with tears.

"It was a slaughter. Everything is gone. Everyone is gone." A tear leaks out of Echo's eyes and she wipes it with her wing. "We were almost done with the skeletons when a whole herd of black horses came stampeding through the cemetery, destroying some of the crypts and tombstones. All of a sudden it was utter chaos. Things were being destroyed and everyone was disappearing into puffs of black smoke." Echo is now full on sobbing.

"Wait, did you say black horses?" North asks as he leans down to the little bat who just finished wiping away some more tears.

"Yeah. They were black horses made of sand. I've never seen anything like it before. There was something else too. There was a man dressed in a long black robe and he had pointy teeth. He looked like a nightmare of a person." Echo explains.

"That must have been Pitch. He must have come through here with fleet of nightmares while Jinx was with us." North says as he rubs his chin.

"But why Hallo's Grove. Why not the Warren or Tooth Palace?" Jack asks as he kneels next to Jinx and puts a hand on her shoulder.

"He said he was looking for something… A book." Echo states. Jinx's head snaps up at this information and a look of comprehension appears on her face.

"Did he say what book?" Jinx says with the smallest hint of realization in her voice as she looks at her tiny sidekick.

"No…" Echo says. Jinx looks a little frustrated. "But he did show me."

"Echo, what did it look like?" Jinx asks.

"It was a big black leather book with silver writing on the front cover. It also had a lock on it." Jinx rolls her eyes.

"No surprised."

"You know little bat is talking bout?" North says. Jinx stands up and puts Echo back on her shoulder. Jack copies her motion as they turn to the other guardians.

"That book has the spell that is needed to resurrect The Raven." Jinx explains looking at each of the guardians, including Jack.

"Well we gotta find that book before that bloody showpony does." Bunny says.

"But where do we even start looking?" Tooth asks. Suddenly the four other guardians start discussing which quickly turns into arguing.

"Do they always act like squabbling children when there is a crisis like this?" Jinx leans over to ask Jack.

"Pretty much. After this it would turn into an actual fist fight." Jack says with a chuckle.

"Well we can't let that happen, can we?" Jinx smirks, causing Jack's heart to start beating faster. Jinx puts her fingers in her mouth and lets out a high pitch whistle causing the others to cease their arguing and look at her. "Alright, that's enough. We don't have to worry about looking for the book."

"And why is that?" Bunny questions as he hops over to her.

"Two reasons. One, the book is right here..." She motions to a little charm on the chain around her neck. "And two, the key for it is right here." She motions to the ring on her right index finger. "So don't get your fur in a knot, ya kangaroo."

"What did you just call me?" Bunny looms over her in a menacing manner, however she doesn't bat an eyelash.

"You heard me. Anyway, the only way to get these things off of me is to kill me. Jack try to take the ring off my finger." She holds her hand out to Jack. He looks at the other guardians who nod for him to do it. He slowly reaches for her hand and when he gets close enough, a large volt of electricity shoots at him. He gets blasted and lands a few yards away.

"Ow." Jack groans as he stands up and walks back over to the others.

"Case and point, the only way to get this ring and necklace off of me is to take them from my cold, dead body."

"Well that can be arranged." A chilling voice says from the shadows.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: New chapter! Yay!**

Still No One's P.O.V.

"Well that can be arranged." Pitch's shadow moves from tree to tree like a snake through the brush. The guardians get ready for a fight. North draws his two swords, Bunny readys his boomerangs, Sandy summons his sand whips, and Jack clenches his staff. The four boys surrounded the girls to keep them safe, but the girls look at each other with annoyed expressions and roll their eyes. Shadow perches on Jinx's shoulder while Echo hides under Jinx's hair.

"Don't you even think about it." Bunny threatens.

"Oh, go suck an egg, rabbit." Pitch's shadow mocks Bunny.

"Why you little…" Bunny aims to throw one of his boomerang, but Jinx stops him.

"Bunny, don't. This is exactly what he wants. Not only does he feed on fear, but he feeds on anger. So calm down." Jinx explains. Bunny reluctantly puts his boomerangs away and grumbles something under his breath. Jinx looks around for Pitch's shadow and finds it looming over a particular grave. It was her grave. Her breathing suddenly slows down, almost like she is being suffocated. Jack takes this moment to notice dark bruising on her neck. It looks like rope burn.

"Such wonderful memories. That was a time when fear was everywhere. Everyone was scared of everyone else. Such happy times for me. Wouldn't you agree, Jinx?" Pitch's shadow covered the date and the name on the tombstone from the other guardians. The other guardians look at Jinx with confused expressions on their faces but what they see makes them slowly back away a bit.

"Back off, Pitch." Jinx warns as her eyes flash red. "It was because of you that I was killed and it wasn't enough for you to get me killed, you also got my sisters killed." Jinx's voice suddenly becomes darker and more sinister.

"Now, now. I understand that you would be a little upset over Marcy, Angelica, and Charlotte, but they were holding you back from reaching your true potential as a witch. All you needed was a little push."

"Yeah, that little push just happened to be off a stool with a rope around my neck." Jinx grits her teeth as she glares at the shadow.

"Why do you continue to fight the darkness within you? It's never going to go away so why do you try to control it? Join us and we can teach how to tap into your true potential." Pitch's shadow moves away from the grave and closer to Jinx. Jack grips his staff ready to intervene if something goes wrong.

"Because unlike you and my mother, I don't want to use my powers to destroy people's lives and souls. I would much rather stick sewing needles in my eyes than join you and her in anything of the sort." Knowing that Jinx isn't going to back down any time soon, Pitch decides to back off.

"Just consider what you'll be missing." Suddenly the shadow disappears, but Jinx still has her fist clenched at her side and is glaring at the place where the shadow just was, almost like she is in a trance. Jack notices something dripping off her hand and realizes she's been digging her nails into her palm this whole time however she seems completely unaware of the fact that blood is gushing out of the holes in her palm.

"Jinx!" Jack grabs her wrist to get her to stop digging her nails into her palm. She snaps out of it to see her bloody palm and nails. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Jinx rips her hand away, walks over to her grave, and kneels in front of it. The other guardians look at each other before making their way over to her. On the grave they see what is making her upset. The grave is marked with a black flower and a noose symbolizing witchcraft and being hanged for witchcraft. Tooth covers her mouth to stop the gasp from coming out while North puts one hand on her shoulder and Bunny puts a paw on her other shoulder. Jack kneels next to Jinx and puts his hand on her arm. "I was lucky." Without looking at them, she begins to explain. "When my mother was rightfully convicted, everyone assumed that me and my sisters were just as evil as her. They took us to trial and said that all of us would be hanged for witchcraft unless we confess and ask for forgiveness. We all knew that even if we did confess, they would still hang us for being associated with witchcraft. So we stayed silent and then the day came. My mother was hanged before us, but before she died she promised that one day the world would remember the Raven. Then it was our turn. We died together but then I woke up under that very willow tree…" Jinx points to a willow tree near the pond. "I didn't understand what it meant at the time but I eventually realized that it meant he wanted me to do something." Jinx stands up and looks at the willow tree. "That was the tree I was hanged in. I want to believe that the man in the moon chose me as a guardian to make things right."  
"What do you talk about?" North asks.

"I made a mistake when I didn't protect my sisters. They died because I couldn't find the courage to use my magic to keep them safe. That had plagued my conscious since the day I died."

"There was nothing you could have done, sweetie." Tooth tries to make Jinx feel better, but it wasn't really working.

"I could have gotten them out of the house before they came to arrest my mother, but I didn't." Now Jinx was looking at the remains of the mansion.

"That was your house?" Jack asks. Jinx nods as a wind picks up and blows the smell of burnt wood toward the guardians.

"I've seen this house up in flames to many times." Jinx says. Taking a deep breath, she turns to the guardians. "I'll help you take down Pitch, but we can't do it alone."

"So what do we do?" Bunny asks.

"Time to call in the cavalry." For the first time in a while, Jinx has a smile on her face. A wicked smile.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I'M BBBAAAAAACCCCCKKKKKK! Revved and ready to rumble.**

No One's P.O.V.

"Time to call in the cavalry." Jinx says with a wicked smile on her face as she turns on her heels and starts to summon a portal. A blood red stream of magic flows out of her hand and swirls into a passage. She walks through the portal with Echo resting on her shoulder and Shadow trailing behind her until she stops. She turns toward the other guardians and motions for them to follow her before she walks through the portal herself. The other guardians share uneasy looks before timidly walking over the threshold and into the unknown, hoping that whatever is on the other side doesn't jump up and bite them. As they come to a stop, they realize that they are in the middle of a dark library with a single skylight letting in a beam of light. They are surrounded by what seems to be an infinite amount of books that disappear into the shadows.

"What is this place?" Jack asks as he looks around, trying to locate Jinx. They look around but there is no one in sight.

"Jinx? Where you at?" North asks.

"Jinx?!" Tooth yells. The sound of her voice echoes through the rows of bookcases. They all look around trying to spot the witch, but to no avail.

"Where could she have disappeared to?" Bunny asks.

"I'm right here." Jinx walks out from behind Bunny with a large book in her hands and a calm look on her face. Bunny jumps about ten feet in the air and as he lands he quickly takes out his boomerangs in self defense with a panicked look on his face. "Wow… Someone's jumpy." Jinx walks around the terrified Bunnymund and down one of the many rows. The others follow her over to a table where Shadow and Echo are sitting. Jinx sits down, puts the book in front of her and begins reading.

"Where are we?" Jack asks as he looks over her shoulder at what she's reading. The print in the book is so small that he leans down to see if he can make any of it out.

"It's my own secret corner of the world. I come here when I want to escape or when I need to find something. This library contains everything you could ever hope to know. Books on every kind of magic, creature, and legend known and unknown to history. Believe it or not, this isn't the first time I've had to do something like this." Jinx says without looking up from the book.

"What do you mean escape?" Tooth asks as she sits across from Jinx.

"What?" Jinx's head snaps up so fast that Jack could hear her neck crack.

"You said you come here to escape. Escape from what?" Jinx lets out a sigh as she looks up at the other guardians.

"Since I came back to life, my mind has become like a prison. There are times where I'm not in control of my powers and when that happens, a lot goes wrong. " Jinx looks down at the book and continues reading. The guardians look between themselves, trying to figure out what to say to her but no one said anything. "Found it."

"Found what?" North asks. Jinx stands up from her seat and turns around, which causes her to crash into Jack. The two of them stumble as Jack drops his staff to gently grip Jinx's arms to steady themselves.

"Easy there." Jack smirks. Jinx rolls her eyes as she gets out of his grip and walks down a row looking for another book. Jack looks after her with a small smile on his face.

"You're pathetic." Bunny snaps Jack out of his love sick trance.

"What are you talking about, Kangaroo?" Jack turns to Bunny with a confused yet annoyed look gracing his face.

"You're going after a girl who is the vision of death herself. She's not going to be into the whole headache that comes with being in a relationship."

"I'm gonna stop ya right there. Jinx would make an amazing FRIEND!" Jack emphasized the last work to get his point across but no one was buying it.

"Jack, you haven't been able to take your eyes off of Jinx since the moment you met her, it's obvious." Tooth explains with a large grin on her face.

"What's obvious?" Jinx asks as she comes back with three other books. North opens his mouth to answer when Jack quickly cut him off.

"Nothing." He says, sending a glare at the chuckling Easter Bunny.

"Why is Bunny laughing like that?" Jinx puts the books down on the table and sends a confused look toward Jack.

"He's just being an idiot. As per usual." Jack quickly had to duck, in order to avoid being hit with a book by the angry rabbit.

"Gotcha. Moving on now." Jinx sits down and puts the books out in front of her. "In one of these books, there is a way to imprison Pitch and my mother once and for all. Now all we have to do is find it."

"Then let's get to work." Tooth grabs a book and opens to the first page only to realize that it's in a language she can't understand.

"I was about to say that I'm the only one who can read this." Jinx runs her fingers through her hair and her eyes turn white.

"What going on with eyes?" North asks.

"I manifest my emotions by changing my eye color. White means stressed." Jinx sighs as she looks at the books in front of her. "Ok, here's the plan. You are all going back home and I will handle this. I'll let you guys know when I find something." Jinx says and with a flick of her wrist another portal appears.

"What about this calvary you were talking about? While you read these bloomin books, we'll go track them down." Bunny suggests.

"They've been contacted, now I just have to wait until they get back to me but until then, there is nothing to be done other than going through these books, which none of you can read so it's pointless for you guys to stand here and twiddle your thumbs while there are things I'm sure you'd rather be doing." Jinx rambles. All the guardians look at each other with uneasy looks. "I'll come and get you guys when the others get back to me but until then, no offense, you guys are useless."

"Wow, good to see that your silver tongue hasn't lost it sharpness over all these years." A new voice chuckles from the shadows. Suddenly Jinx's eyes turn blood red as a fireball forms in her hand.

"I thought I told you to stay away from me or else I'll barbeque you." The other guardians are surprised at how dark and evil Jinx's voice sounds. A laughs echoes through the bookshelves as the person steps into view. It appears to be a guy that looks to be around Jack and Jinx's age with jet black hair, pale skin and killer green eyes.

"Now is that anyway to greet your old fiance?"


End file.
